Within a pyrotechnic facility, fireworks candles exploded at the time of their destruction. The candles to be destroyed, measuring 30 mm, were composed of 8 “salute” displays with sound effects.

The destruction operating protocol specified that the articles were to be destroyed inside a concrete nozzle (1-m diameter, 80 cm high) buried vertically up to 10 cm from the upper edge. The candles were placed vertically into the nozzle; they occupied nearly all of the allocated space. They were fitted with fuses individually to ensure simultaneous ignition of the entire set. Previous destruction operations allowed disposing of 22, then 80, candles of this type. On the day of the accident, 360 candles were placed in the nozzle. After ignition, 4 or 5 volleys were fired, followed by the deflagration of the entire set, through a triggered activation of the “salute” displays, most likely due to the confinement created inside the nozzle. The quantity of material released by the blast was estimated at 25 kg, i.e. half the initial charge.

This accident resulted in no injuries. The nozzle was destroyed, leaving in its place a crater 1 m deep by 1.5 m in diameter. Concrete pieces were projected in all directions, including outside the designated destruction zone.

The operator limited the quantities of candles for simultaneous destruction to 100 candles of 30-mm dimension, or 50 candles of 45-mm dimension, or 50 candles of the 65-mm dimension per operation. The noise effect candles will be buried directly into sand or else in ground devoid of materials capable of generating hazardous projections.